Fair to question what is wrong with Coco Gauff currently

What's going on with Coco Gauff? At this same point in 2023, she was ascending to the best success she had ever had on the WTA tour. She won four titles in 2023, but three came in nearly back-to-back-to-back tournaments. She won the Citi Open, then lost in the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open, but then won the Western and Southern Open and the US Open.

This year? Not so much. She won the Auckland Open to begin the year again but has not won a tournament since. Worse, she is getting bounced out of tournaments even earlier lately. She lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon, the third round of the Olympics, and at the Canadian Open before losing in the second round of the Cincinnati Open.

Since her loss at Wimbledon, her record is 3-4. That doesn't sound like the No. 2 player on the WTA tour and she is soon not going to be. After her loss in Cincinnati, she will fall to No. 3 behind No. 1 Iga Swiatek and new No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.

Coco Gauff greatly struggling ahead of the US Open

Gauff will then have 2,000 points to defend at the US Open which begins on August 26. With her current form, she can expect a fairly large points drop should she not get past the fourth round in New York.

Gauff has always been a bit inconsistent with her serve. She can use that as a powerful weapon and can hit with pace from both her forehand and backhand. She is streaky, however, and can cause herself to fall behind in matches with a bunch of unforced errors. The issue is not physical as she has proven she can play extremely well. Her current issue appears to be confidence and struggling mentally.

This could be simply the course for a young player. As long as Gauff has been playing professional tennis, it is easy to forget she is still only 20 years old. She will probably regain her belief in herself and, therefore, her form.

Whether that happens before the US Open, however, is a different question. Expecting her to win the Grand Slam for the second straight year seems like too much. She surprised us last year, of course, but she also was having a more successful run entering the US Open.

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